propane burner problems

I'm in the middle of a brew and my burner is acting up

I have the bayou classic sp10 with the 20psi regulator. . .I have never had trouble getting a boil going. Tonight my burner that normal sounds like a jet engine sounds more like an electric car. . .and it is going on 30 minutes and still no boil (on a 10 gallon batch) although I am getting close I think. .. any suggestions??

Thanks

Pava

Is the air intake closed off? Is your propane tank full?

air intake is open and have a fresh propane tank. . .was using a fairly empty one, but hooked it up the newly filled one just to make sure that wasn't the problem

Has your tank frozen? You may have to put the tank in a bucket of warm water. Sure it has propane in it? Not being a Smart Ass I sometimes can't tell for sure when they are emtpy. They sure feel like they should have some left in them.

ok . . . so I just found out if I shake the hell outta the propane tank I can get it to crank up to the normal output. . .does this mean I have a frozen tank??

I think that these new LPG tanks have a safety valve in the tank. Try shutting off the tank valve and all the valves in the system. I'd disconnect the hose just for kicks. Then reconnect and start over with all valves off. Open the tank first then the regulater if there is a valve on it. This may reset the in tank valve.

There would be frost on the outside of the tank if it is frozen.

alright. . .well it is working now. . .I switched back to the old tank (even though it is close to empty and it is working now. Not sure if it was the disconnecting and reconnecting or if the other one is frozen. Either way I am boiling at least until this tank empties, if the boil isn't over yet I will switch back to the full tank and see what happens. Thanks for the quick help and advice all.

Mine was doing the same thing tonight. I ran it under some hot water for 10 minutes and all was well. 23F here in the brew house (garage) tonight.

I'd put the full one in a bucket of hot tap water while you use up the other. Would'nt hurt to leave it in warm water even when in use.

finally wrapping up my 'boil' . .. actually I did get a good boil finally and all seems to be working again with the burner. . .thanks again for all the quick responses.

On a side note this was my first experiment with Forward Hopping. . . I will probably post another thread about the affect of longterm (about an hour) forward hopping.

Anyway, thanks again for the quick responses.

Greeting,
I have been trying to start a new thread or a new post, but I could not figure it out. So I'm posting my question in here.
In short, I have connected a standard BBQ propane tank into 10' long propane hose, into ½” black pipe (about 2 ft. long pipe). I tee off twice from the ½” pipe, each T goes into a regulator that produce the proper pressure for the propane burner of that T. I got two burners, one 10 PSI the other 30 PSI. When I finished building my brewing stand and finished connecting the propane and all, I tried the burners and they were fantastic. They worked and boiled a full keg as a test run. Next time, in another day, I tried to turn them on, but they did not work. Starts ok and in 10 seconds POFF they go off. All I noticed after trying and trying many times that if I keep the 10 PSI burner on low (very low) it keeps burning, but as soon as I turn the regulator up pressure dies and flam dies as well. For the 30 PSI it does not stand a chance, it goes off immediately once I light it. Having said that it is obvious that the propane is making it through and it dies of after. Please look at the attached picture to see how I connected things up. Any suggestions? PS; notice that the propane cylinder is connected to the 10' long hose directly and without a regulator.

Thanks

So, the obvious question is, do you have the same problem with either of your gas cylinders. Assuming that's true, I would start with the green ACME nut at the tank: they have an internal excess-flow shutoff built into them, and yours might just be balky.

I'm guessing the two regulators you installed in the gas manifold both had ACME nuts, so try the other one.

Also, ACME nuts have different flow ratings, and to run both burners at full power you might need to upgrade to a higher flow rated nut - or switch to a POL type tank connector...

Cheers!

Thanks for the reply. I tried one thing and it did work for a complete boil and test run. I was told to keep the cylinder on and use the regulators to turn off and on the burner heads. Basically maintain pressure in the line and that did work. It seem like if I turn on the cylinder and did not wait for some time before I turn on any of the burner heads, that cause the chocking of the propane!! Does that make any since to you?

Majd said:

Thanks for the reply. I tried one thing and it did work for a complete boil and test run. I was told to keep the cylinder on and use the regulators to turn off and on the burner heads. Basically maintain pressure in the line and that did work. It seem like if I turn on the cylinder and did not wait for some time before I turn on any of the burner heads, that cause the chocking of the propane!! Does that make any since to you?

Click to expand...

Yes, it actually does: the rapid filling of that long gas line might cause the excess-flow valve in the ACME nut to trigger, and when that happens you have to shut everything off and start over again. Slowing opening the tank valve (with both regulators closed), waiting for the line to pressurize, then slowly open one regulator and lighting may well get through that "surge" that can close the ACME valve...

Cheers!